This is one of the flowers growing on the Crassula Falcata succulent adjacent to our front porch, Every year this interesting plant grows flower stalks that produce an array of tiny red flowers. When the little flowers open up, they have yellow stamens which give the flowers an orange appearance when seen from a distance.

According to Desert Tropicals, this plant does not tolerate direct sunlight in hot Phoenix summers, so we’ll try and grow one in a shady spot on the patio at the new Wickenburg house. Our back patio should be shady all day.

I wanted to post a picture of this flower today to see if Sig94 will tell me he’s got one of these growing out of his other leg. Click on the image to enlarge

We stopped at the garden shop for a few supplies today. While there, as usual, I took pictures of some of the pretty flowers on display. I took this picture of a sunlit cluster of plumerias. Click on the image to enlarge.

The end of night-blooming cereus flower season is coming soon. In the meantime, we’re enjoying a daily show - in the morning, that is, since they fade after a couple of hours of sunlight. Click on the image to enlarge.

We have been enjoying a nice weekend here. Out on the patio, The tuberose bulbs I planted a couple of years ago are in bloom. The flowers are pale pink and open into very fragrant blossoms. Click on the image to enlarge.

We stopped to walk the dogs and take a rest on our way back to California at the General Patton Memorial Museum located at Chiriaco Summit on Interstate 10. We did not go into the museum today, but took some photos of the large display of vintage military tanks and armored vehicles. Click on the image to enlarge.

Over the past couple of weeks, Damsel and I have been joking about the little Jack antenna ball on the SUV. We would be on an errand to facilitate our move to Arizona and we would look up at the antenna ball’s silly smile and one of us would say “Jack likes Arizona.” It got to be a standing joke whenever we would stop to take a photo or to check on the progress of our new house. We have been chuckling at the silly clown so often that has become a cliché.

Image: Jack’s not smiling anymore (courtesy Damsel).

We pulled into Ehrenberg, AZ, a small riverside community on the banks of the Colorado River, where you can see California on the other side. Damsel told me that Jack wasn’t smiling anymore. The irony of going back into California and Jack losing the silly grin gave us a good laugh. I guess Jack doesn’t like California all that much.

On our way back towards California, we took a side trip to Alamo Lake, an Arizona State Park. It’s a project of the US Army Corps of Engineers and a reservoir for the City of Los Angeles, who, by the way, is boycotting Arizona except for water and electricity and anything else those disingenuous idiots need.

At any rate, the lake is a beautiful, although out of the way, recreational facility for boaters, campers, picnickers and anglers - plenty of catfish, trout and other desert varieties. I also saw plenty of quail running about. Click on the wide-angle image to enlarge.

In late spring, I bought some Asian lilies to put in the front porch planters for some spring color. Eventually, the lilies played out and I bought some Gerbera Daisies for the summer decorative flowers in the planters. I didn’t get around to putting them in the planters since a tomato plant had started to sprout in the soil where I cut back the lilies. It looked healthy, so I left it to grow into a mature tomato plant.

I guess it’s quite common for plants from a nursery to carry seeds from tomatoes and other things. This isn’t the first time for this to happen to us.

This is the plant today - sporting a healthy crop of six little tomatoes. I got a trellis from the back yard to support the weight of the tomatoes while they get ripe. Now, I’m looking forward to having garden-fresh tomatoes grown on the front porch. Click on the image to enlarge.

This is one of four cereus cactus flowers in bloom this morning. This time of year. one or more of these opens every day. Within hours the flowers wilt, eventually fall off leaving a portion of the stem that will grow into the fruit of this cactus. Click on the image to enlarge (notice the pollinator inside).

I’m not sure about the name of these tiny orchids, but they come in purple, yellow, red and this shade of persimmon. I have had all four come out on our California patio this year. They grow from stems that extend out of the leaves and form clusters of several inch-wide flowers. Click on the image to enlarge.

The now nearly ubiquitous sign proclaiming “Putting America to Work” keeps the taggers busy in East Los Angeles. Despite the grand plans of the Administration and the Democratic Congress to put Americans back in the workforce, the unemployment numbers remain high, especially in urban areas like this depressed area of L.A. County.

It appears that the graffiti- mongers still have time enough to deface this $12,400 sign along Interstate 710 (along with most other signs, bridges, K-rail walls and a lot of private property in the area. I wonder what plans the Administration has to end this defacing?

Oh, yes - suing Arizona ought to clear this right up . . .

It gets a little warm in July . . .

Light blogging travel days coming up.